1200 to 1450 (CED)

Question 1

Explain the systems of government employed by Chinese dynasties and how they developed over time. (Political)

Answer 1

KC-3.3.II
Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia and the
Americas demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in the 13th century. This included the Song Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional methods of Confucianism and an imperial bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule.

Question 2

Explain the effects of
Chinese cultural traditions on
East Asia over time. (Cultural)

Answer 2

KC-3.3.II
Chinese cultural traditions continued, and they influenced neighboring regions.
KC-3.3.II
Buddhism and its core beliefs continued to
shape societies in Asia and included a variety of branches, schools, and practices.

Question 3

Explain the effects of
innovation on the Chinese
economy over time. (Economic)

Answer 3

KC-3.3.III.A.i
The economy of Song China became
increasingly commercialized while continuing
to depend on free peasant and artisanal labor.
KC-3.1.I.D
The economy of Song China flourished as
a result of increased productive capacity,
expanding trade networks, and innovations in
agriculture and manufacturing.

Question 4

Explain how systems of belief
and their practices affected
society in the period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450. (Cultural)

Answer 4

KC-3.1.III.D.iii
Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the core
beliefs and practices of these religions
continued to shape societies in Africa and Asia

Question 5

Explain the causes and
effects of the rise of Islamic
states over time. (Political)

Answer 5

KC-3.2.I
As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new
Islamic political entities emerged, most of
which were dominated by Turkic peoples.
These states demonstrated continuity,
innovation, and diversity.

Question 6

Explain the effects of
intellectual innovation in
Dar al-Islam. (Innovation)

Answer 6

KC-3.2.II.A.i
Muslim states and empires encouraged
significant intellectual innovations and transfers.

Question 7

Explain how the various belief
systems and practices of
South and Southeast Asia
affected society over time. (Cultural)

Answer 7

KC-3.1.III.D.iv
Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, and their core beliefs and practices, continued to shape societies in South and Southeast Asia.

Question 8

Explain how and why states in
the Americas developed and
changed over time. (Political)

Answer 8

KC-3.2.I.D.i
In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state
systems demonstrated continuity, innovation,
and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach.

Question 9

Explain how and why states
in Africa developed and
changed over time. (Political)

Answer 9

KC-3.2.I.D.ii
In Africa, as in Eurasia and the Americas, state
systems demonstrated continuity, innovation,
and diversity and expanded in scope and reach.

Question 10

Explain how the beliefs and
practices of the predominant
religions in Europe affected
European society. (Cultural)

Answer 10

KC-3.1.III.D.v
Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the core
beliefs and practices of these religions
continued to shape societies in Europe.

Question 11

Explain the causes and
consequences of political
decentralization in Europe
from c. 1200 to c. 1450. (Political)

Answer 11

KC-3.2.I.B.ii
Europe was politically fragmented and
characterized by decentralized monarchies,
feudalism, and the manorial system.

Question 12

Explain the effects of
agriculture on social
organization in Europe from
c. 1200 to c. 1450. (Social)

Answer 12

KC-3.2.I.B.ii
Europe was largely an agricultural society
dependent on free and coerced labor,
including serfdom.

Question 13

Explain the causes and
effects of growth of networks
of exchange after 1200. (Economic)

Answer 13

KC-3.1.I.A.i
Improved commercial practices led to an
increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing trade routes—including the Silk Roads—promoting the growth of powerful new trading cities.
KC-3.1.I.C.i
The growth of interregional trade in luxury
goods was encouraged by innovations
in previously existing transportation and
commercial technologies, including the
caravanserai, forms of credit, and the
development of money economies.
KC-3.3.I.B
Demand for luxury goods increased in AfroEurasia. Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans and merchants expanded their production of textiles and porcelains for export; manufacture of iron and steel expanded in China.

Question 14

Explain the process of state
building and decline in
Eurasia over time. (Political)

Answer 14

KC-3.2.I.B.iii
Empires collapsed in different regions of the
world and in some areas were replaced by new
imperial states, including the Mongol khanates.

Question 15

Explain how the expansion of
empires influenced trade and
communication over time. (Economic)

Answer 15

KC-3.1.I.E.i
The expansion of empires—including the
Mongols—facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade
and communication as new people were
drawn into their conquerors’ economies
and trade networks.

Question 16

Explain the significance
of the Mongol Empire in
larger patterns of continuity
and change. (Cultural)

Answer 16

KC-3.2.II.A.ii
Interregional contacts and conflicts between
states and empires, including the Mongols,
encouraged significant technological and
cultural transfers.

Question 17

Explain the causes of the
growth of networks of
exchange after 1200. (Economic)

Answer 17

KC-3.1.I.A.ii
Improved transportation technologies and
commercial practices led to an increased
volume of trade and expanded the
geographical range of existing trade routes,
including the Indian Ocean, promoting the
growth of powerful new trading cities.
KC-3.1.I.C.ii
The growth of interregional trade in luxury
goods was encouraged by significant
innovations in previously existing
transportation and commercial technologies,
including the use of the compass, the
astrolabe, and larger ship designs.
KC-3.1.I.A.iii
The Indian Ocean trading network fostered the
growth of states.

Question 18

Explain the effects of the
growth of networks of
exchange after 1200. (Cultural)

Answer 18

KC-3.1.III.B
In key places along important trade routes,
merchants set up diasporic communities
where they introduced their own cultural
traditions into the indigenous cultures and,
in turn, indigenous cultures influenced
merchant cultures.
KC-3.2.II.A.iii
Interregional contacts and conflicts between
states and empires encouraged significant
technological and cultural transfers, including
during Chinese maritime activity led by Ming
Admiral Zheng He.

Question 19

Explain the role of
environmental factors in the
development of networks of
exchange in the period from
c. 1200 to c. 1450. (Environment)

Answer 19

KC-3.1.II.A.i
The expansion and intensification of longdistance trade routes often depended on
environmental knowledge, including advanced
knowledge of the monsoon winds.

Question 20

Explain the causes and
effects of the growth of
trans-Saharan trade. (Innovation)

Answer 20

KC-3.1.II.A.ii
The growth of interregional trade was
encouraged by innovations in existing
transportation technologies.
KC-3.1.I.A.iv
Improved transportation technologies and
commercial practices led to an increased
volume of trade and expanded the
geographical range of existing trade routes,
including the trans-Saharan trade network.

Question 21

Explain how the expansion of
empires influenced trade and
communication over time. (Political)

Answer 21

KC-3.1.I.E.ii
The expansion of empires—including Mali in
West Africa–facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and
communication as new people were drawn into
the economies and trade networks.

Question 22

Explain the intellectual and
cultural effects of the various
networks of exchange in
Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to
c. 1450. (Cultural)

Answer 22

KC-3.1.III.D
Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted
in the diffusion of literary, artistic, and
cultural traditions, as well as scientific and
technological innovations.
KC-3.3.II
The fate of cities varied greatly, with periods
of significant decline and periods of increased
urbanization, buoyed by rising productivity and
expanding trade networks.
KC-3.1.III.C
As exchange networks intensified, an
increasing number of travelers within AfroEurasia wrote about their travels.

Question 23

Explain the environmental
effects of the various
networks of exchange in
Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to
c. 1450. (Environment)

Answer 23

KC-3.1.IV
There was continued diffusion of crops and
pathogens, with epidemic diseases, including
the bubonic plague, along trade routes.